Biodegradable plastics-the golden key to the low-carbon economy

Biodegradable plastic is a kind of polymer in the environment that is degraded by bacteria and other microorganisms within a specific time frame. According to the "2015-2020 Global Biodegradable Plastic Types and Applications Market Forecast Report" released by Markets & Markets Consulting, the biodegradable plastics market will grow strongly at a compound annual growth rate of 10.8% from 2015 to 2020. , The output value will increase from 2 billion U.S. dollars in 2015 to 3.4 billion U.S. dollars in 2020. The report shows that in terms of quantity, polylactic acid (PLA) has become the main force in the biodegradable plastics market due to its superior mechanical properties and easy processing characteristics, occupying 45.1% of the market share, and will be used in all biodegradable plastics. The type continues to grow at the fastest rate. However, in terms of market value, starch blends are slightly better than polylactic acid due to their higher production costs. What are the development trends of biodegradable plastics? How can biodegradable plastics contribute to the low-carbon economy? A few days ago, Adsale "CPRJ China Plastics & Rubber" magazine specially interviewed Dr. Marc Verbruggen, President of NatureWorks LLC, on topics related to biodegradable plastics. According to Dr. Marc Verbrugen, the application scope of Ingeo, a biodegradable plastic produced by Natureworks, has gradually expanded from food packaging, flexible packaging, and cards to durable goods. About 2-3 years ago, Natureworks began to study the characteristics of Ingeo and found that it can also be used in durable goods, and can even replace ABS or polystyrene. The new Ingeo formula standardizes "high temperature resistance" and achieves the required functionality through crystallization, and the renewable carbon content in the new formula will reach 90%, and its impact and modulus have been optimized, which makes them more suitable It is suitable for injection molding applications—especially those products that are currently suitable for ABS with high temperature resistance and high impact strength and/or high modulus requirements. Compared with ABS, its flexural modulus can be increased by up to 50%, making it possible to make the product thinner and lighter. In addition, Ingeo, which is suitable for durable goods, also has better chemical resistance.

Extract carbon directly from the atmosphere as a raw material

At present, Ingeo's main raw material is glucose extracted from corn starch. In order to improve product performance and reduce production costs, Natureworks may also consider using sugarcane as a raw material, and will build new factories in Southeast Asia where sugarcane production is abundant. In the next 3-5 years, lignocellulose will be extracted from straw, wood chips, switchgrass or straw to extract sugar. "We also made bold assumptions, whether we can bypass the plant as an intermediary and directly extract carbon from the atmosphere as raw materials? To this end, we cooperated with Calysta on research and development to convert regenerated bio-based methane into lactic acid through a fermentation process. As the structural monomer of Ingeo. This technology is still in the experimental research stage. It is expected that the basic research and development work will be completed in 2-3 years, and the pilot production will be carried out in 3-5 years. If the conversion of methane to lactic acid can be realized, It will bring a revolutionary breakthrough in the plastics industry. Renewable methane generated from wastewater treatment, landfills, agricultural waste decomposition, and anaerobic digestion will become the source of raw materials for extracting Ingeo structural monomers. To achieve sustainable development, PLA will have a more competitive price advantage." Converting biomethane into lactic acid is not only a bold innovation in technology, it will also effectively reduce greenhouse gas emissions and reduce carbon footprint. In the past September, during a state visit to the United States by Chinese President Xi Jinping, he also announced that China will start the cap and trade system in 2017, which will also be biodegradable for China. Plastics bring development opportunities.

Total carbon laws bring opportunities

Dr. Marc Verbruggen said that the total carbon control and trading system is a legal restraint mechanism to effectively reduce the carbon footprint, which will bring development opportunities for biology, bioenergy and bioplastics. "At present, although the carbon footprint of bioplastics is only half or less of the carbon footprint of traditional plastics, it has not been measured for monetization. The total carbon control and trading system will fill this gap. For biodegradable For plastics, reducing carbon footprint is not only an environmental issue, but also an issue of economic efficiency. Governments, consumers, brand owners and NGOs will gradually realize the value of biodegradable plastics. I believe that in the next five years, China The consumption of biodegradable plastics will increase sharply, and it will also drive the development of related technologies.” Dr. Marc Verbruggen also pointed out that the government will realize the importance of biodegradable plastics faster than the general public. Play an important role in the application and promotion of plastics. Some experts in the United States now believe that from an economic point of view, people may be able to extract oil from the ground, but from an environmental protection point of view, it is better to keep the oil underground. “People have begun to realize the importance of a low-carbon economy. For example, in China’s Jilin Province, relevant departments have begun to ban the use of polyethylene film and require the use of bioplastic films. In Naples, the government promotes the use of biodegradable plastics in the form of taxes, such as Mineral water bottles made of traditional plastics may have to pay a tax of 30 cents, but if bioplastics are used, they only need to pay a tax of 5 cents. The US government uses government supplies to increase biodegradable plastics. Market demand. Different governments take different measures to promote the conversion of traditional oil-based plastics to renewable bioplastics. However, I still hope to strengthen the low-carbon economy and bioplastics use legislation. At the same time, government efforts are also needed. To raise the general public’s awareness of biodegradable plastics.

Price and performance become the key to development

When talking about the development trend of biodegradable plastics, Dr. Marc Verbrugen said that reducing prices and improving performance will be the main trends in the development of biodegradable plastics in the future. "Fifteen years ago, Natureworks focused on environmental benefits and low carbon footprint, and committed to the production of biodegradable materials. However, we have also begun to realize that it is difficult to achieve success with only environmental benefits, and the products must be cost-competitive. For this reason. , We build large factories to improve energy efficiency. At the same time, through comparison, we choose cheaper raw materials. Today, the cost of producing one kilogram of PLA is much lower than the cost of producing one kilogram of PLA five years ago. Secondly, biodegradable The improvement of plastic performance is also increasingly important. Five years ago, Ingeo's performance was far inferior to ABS, but now, Ingeo has higher performance, better chemical resistance and more optimized structure than ABS, and it is also an environmentally friendly product. With the penetration of the globalization of chemical transactions, more and more research institutions and factories are established in China, and the biodegradable plastics industry is bound to become global.” Finally, Dr. Marc Verbruggen mentioned that the current PLA and Ingeo products of Natureworks 50% is sold to North America, 30% is Asia, and 20% is Europe. In addition, in durable goods applications, 70% of the global injection molding infrastructure is in Asia, and most of the electronic product production equipment is also in Asia. Asia is still an important market for Natureworks. "I expect our Asian market to achieve a 30% increase in the future. Therefore, Asia. At the same time, if we can find suitable sugarcane or cassava plantations in Asia, we will also open the next factory in Asia.